Thai Binh, August 12 (VNA) – Free heart disease screenings were given to poor children under 16 years old in northern Thai Binh province on August 12 as part of a charity project “Trai tim cho em” (Operation Healthy Heart).

Over 1,000 children were provided check-ups at the Thai Binh Paediatrics Hospital in the morning.

According to the hospital’s Director Doctor Nguyen Thi Minh Chinh, Thai Binh is among provinces with high prevalence of children suffering from congenital heart defects.

The Operation Healthy Heart gave an opportunity for those from difficult backgrounds to receive counselling and treatment for the diseases.

The programme has provided free life-saving surgeries for more than 100 impoverished children in the province to date.

It was initiated by the Viettel Group and Vietnam Television in 2008 with an aim to support surgery need of disadvantaged children under 16 born with heart deformities and help improve local capacity to offer heart screenings to children.

Since then, the Operation Healthy Heart has organised 35 screening events across the country with over 47,000 children diagnosed with congenital heart diseases and 3,500 of them given surgeries. It has also raised 120 billion VND in funding for such surgeries.

This was the first time a free heart check-up event held in Thai Binh and it will run until August 13.